With the SA Football Association (Safa) elective congress set to go ahead on Saturday, current president Danny Jordaan looks poised to get his third term at the helm of the federation.
Jordaan, who will go head-to-head with Safa vice-president Ria Ledwaba and Safa Tshwane president Solly Mohlabeng, seems to enjoy overwhelming support from the majority of the association’s 52 regions.
Ledwaba’s presidential ambition took another big knock yesterday when women in Safa structures turned their backs on her and declared their support for Jordaan while Mohlabeng has not been mentioned.
In the build-up to the elective congress, Ledwaba has been vocal about how local football was in shambles under Jordaan’s administration and also had her bid to halt the election thrown out of court.
Despite Bafana Bafana proving unable to qualify for many tournaments, they did on occasion qualify for top football showpieces, and Jordaan backers believe the association is doing well under his guidance.
Since Jordaan took over as president in 2013, Bafana have failed to qualify for the World Cup (2014, 2018, 2022) and twice qualified for the African Cup of Nations (2015, 2019) while failing on two occasions (2017 and 2021).
We are not going to have a woman president for the sake of having a woman as president
While Banyana Banyana are yet to win the African Women’s Cup of Nations, they have enjoyed some success and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
Jordaan’s current tenure has been marred by allegations of corruption and constitutional manipulation at Safa, which he has denied.
Ledwaba’s comments about Safa not being in favour of women under Jordaan seem to have rubbed the Safa president and the women in the federation the wrong way.
Women’s Football SA chairperson and Safa national executive committee (NEC) member Emma Hendricks said they were disappointed by Ledwaba’s utterances.
Hendricks and other Safa women, who were at a Safa congress in Sandton yesterday, accused Ledwaba of trying to destroy the association. “I think for us as women it’s very hard to support someone who is trying to destroy our organisation,” Hendricks said.
“We need, and we have pleaded to the corporate [body] to support and equip us in these four years so that we can get ready for the next election. We need the sponsorships in women’s football to help us grow so that we can be ready for the next elections. But it’s hard to support someone who goes out and talks negatively about Safa, something that we are building together. We don’t want such a leader.
“We need someone who has football at heart. If you have Safa at heart, why are you breaking Safa? Build this thing.”
Safa NEC member Anastasia Tsichlas echoed Hendricks’ sentiments, saying they are not going to support Ledwaba just because she is a woman. “First of all, we are here as women to support women and we are not politicians. We don’t ask politicians about what they think. It’s not our business, but our business is women’s football,” Tsichlas said.
“It’s not that we are not ready for a woman president, we are saying it must be the right one at the right time. Then we will agree because we live in a democracy. But we are not going to have a woman president for the sake of having a woman as president.”
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